Have you ever had one of those nightmares that you can't awaken from? The Dallas Stars are in the middle of one after losing to the Minnesota Wild at home. The fact that they had a two-goal lead, blew it in OT, and lost Mason Marchment is painful. However, they get a chance to awake from that nightmare against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. Justin Hryckowian will likely make his NHL debut tonight since Marchment is in no shape to play after taking a puck to the face.
Right now, the Stars fanbase is just asking anyone to step up and provide some consistent offense. The current state of the Stars' offense is disconnected, like Anikin's podracer after Tyler Seguin's injury. Losing Marchment is going to make it more discombobulated. I hope Pete DeBoer and the coaching staff locked themselves in a room yesterday and worked on a plan to get the offense consistent again. Here are the three keys of the game tonight against the Blackhawks.
Dallas Stars vs. Chicago Blackhawks Preview: 3. Just put the biscuit in the net
I don't think anyone at this point cares who scores a goal for the Stars. They want someone to step up and be a consistent scorer. If Jamie Benn steps up tonight and puts the biscuit in the back of the net, so be it. The Stars need to find a consistent offense again before it's too late, and they get a lottery draft pick instead of making the playoffs. All the fanbase is asking for tonight is someone to score goals tonight. It will be a long night if no one on the Stars steps up and scores the puck.
Dallas Stars vs. Chicago Blackhawks Preview: 2. Shut down Tyler Bertuzzi
Even though the Blackhawks are at the bottom of the league again, they must be wary of some of their goalscorers. Tyler Bertuzzi is one of those players the Stars need to watch during the game tonight. He has 11 goals coming into tonight's matchup against the Stars. I wouldn't be surprised if Lian Bichsel got the assignment to cover him tonight. The last thing the Stars need is Bertuzzi to score goals and keep the Stars in this December nightmare.
Dallas Stars vs. Chicago Blackhawks Preview: 1. Help whomever the goaltender is tonight
After Oettinger's mental lapse in overtime, don't be surprised to see Casey DeSmith get the start for the Stars tonight in Chicago. DeSmith needs all hands on deck to help defend the net and shut down the Blackhawks from pulling off the upset tonight. I don't think the Stars want to lose tonight's game after losing to a Kaprizov-less Wild team on Friday night. All the Stars have to do is score goals and help DeSmith or Oettinger protect the net, and they should win the game tonight.